(IL) Chicago Tribune – To walk the grounds of the Joliet Army Ammunition Plant in 2009 is to see nature’s best effort to heal the scars of a once-heralded manufacturing empire.
Rich, green grass has returned to the small ridge known simply as “the burning grounds,” where TNT and old munitions were melted and recast decades ago. Lush cottonwood and hackberry trees now stand on the high grass where smoke stacks spewed noxious fumes into the air. Beavers and birds cool themselves in the winding creek that was a dumping ground for harmful solvents and chemicals.
But below ground, the picture is different. The chemical residue from the production of ammunition during and after World War II continues to infiltrate the soil and water tables at the 24,000-acre former arsenal south of Joliet. More